not-so-Common Merganser at Humber Bay /November 22, 2019

You can usually see a Hooded Merganser and a Red-breasted Merganser at this time of year at Humber Bay. And we did on this very windy, cloudy 2 degree morning.

However, you are much less likely to spot the Common Merganser. At most localities and in most seasons, this is the common merganser in Ontario but not in the Toronto area in cold weather.

We had a female mixed in with other duck species this morning:

Common Merganser (female)
Common Merganser (female)
Common Merganser (female) and Common Goldeneye (female)

These photos are not precise due to the strong sunshine behind the bird. Here are some Common Mergansers that I was able to photograph earlier this year.

left to right: Common merganser (female), Common merganser (female), Hooded Merganser (male), Common merganser (male)

Species list: mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, gadwall,  bufflehead, common goldeneye, long-tailed duck, common merganser, hooded merganser, red-breasted merganser, red-tailed hawk, ring-billed gull, downy woodpecker, black-capped chickadee, northern mockingbird,  cedar waxwing, European starling, house sparrow, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco.  (21 species)

Hooded Mergansers (male)
Common Goldeneye (female)
Bufflehead (female)
Mallard (female)
Canada Geese
Hooded Mergansers
Red-tailed Hawk
Mallard (male)
Mallard (female)
Gadwalls
Gadwall (female)
Long-tailed Ducks
Northern Cardinal (female)
Downy Woodpecker (female)
Northern Cardinal (male)

Park scenes:

Coyote
Coyote
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Today’s group:

Now is the time for the burning of the leaves.
They go to the fire; the nostril pricks with smoke
Wandering slowly into a weeping mist.
Brittle and blotched, ragged and rotten sheaves!
A flame seizes the smouldering ruin and bites
On stubborn stalks that crackle as they resist.     – Robert Laurence Binyon (1869–1943)

Miles Hearn

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